Just One Step – Clairy
We were at the laundromat and folding clothes, doing our routine when we saw a group of people wearing red shirts that said, “Love Naples.” My son was like, “Mom, what kind of group is that?” I said, “You know that’s a church.” The first people that came in were Jordan and Janelle. They came up to me and we spoke, hitting it off right away. They gave us Dunkin’ Donuts; they were passing out donuts and change to everyone at the laundromat, talking to people about Jesus. I was mesmerized by it. Love Naples? That was love. They were spreading the love of Jesus. When I said, “Well, what church do you go to?” They said, “We go to First Naples.” We were like, “Well, we heard of that church, but we never actually visited.” That’s why we went to our first service and we were blessed with a wonderful worship service. That’s what drew us to it; Love – the love in the church and the love for each other. We looked at it and said, “We want to be in that family of Christ.” And that’s why we’re here. Almost two years now.
“We want to be in that family of Christ.”
I grew up in a Christian family. I thought, automatically, I’m covered. My parents are Christians, I don’t need to do anything. Little did I know that I had to have a personal journey with Christ to know who He was. I gave my life to Christ when I was nine. But I got baptized when I was 14. That’s when I began to grow in understanding and experience God personally. At 15, I was serving God, working in the church, working with kids. I went through a really hard time around 18 years old when I was trying to get into a nursing program and didn’t get in. I started going through anxiety and depression. All I wanted to do was harm myself. I asked myself, “Why am I even here? What’s my purpose?” Then one night I had a dream with a man who was sitting on a chair dressed in all white. He said, “Your purpose is to spread My Word; to sing and talk to people about Jesus.” At first, I was a little confused because I really didn’t understand. I was 19. That was another moment that pushed me to grow and know who Christ was. You know, just because you were born into a Christian family does not automatically mean that you already know God. When my dad got sick, that’s when I had to know who God was. And day by day, he’s still revealing who he is, still. I’m grateful for that.
There were hard moments when I questioned God. “Did you put me on this earth for this? Because I know you own this earth, you own the whole universe. Why put me in this situation? Why do I have to go through this? I’m such a good person. I respect people. I was raised right. I know right from wrong. Why me, Lord? Why do I have to go through this?” And then I remember what I read in the Bible. I love the story of Joseph. Every time I read it, it gives me a different perspective. Joseph loved his brothers, but he didn’t know that his brothers would have betrayed him like that. He didn’t know that God had bigger plans for him. He thought he was just tending farms and taking after his father. He didn’t know he was going to be the governor of another country that he was not even born in. That tells me, “Okay, God, I know you have big plans for me. You know what I want. You know what I crave. You know what I’m passionate about. You know I love to worship. I love to sing. I love to work for you. So I must stay right here because I know you’re going to do greater things for me. It’s not just me. You did it for Esther. You did it for so many people in the Bible.” So I know He has greater things for me.
I know He has greater things for me.
My mom was influential in my life in understanding Jesus, because no matter what situation, she endured. She never stopped praying, never stopped going to God. Sometimes it made me mad. I said, “Mom, this person did that to you and you’re going to go pray?!” She would say, “No, let God handle it. It’s not up to me. Let Him handle it.”
I remember we were in Florida and during Hurricane Wilma, there was an army of people that filled up my mom’s van with loads of cases of water and food. She went to every household we could find in the church family, no matter what. She had a big heart. And even when she was told that her kidneys were failing by the doctor, she still had joy. She was like, “If this is what God’s plan is, then make His name glorified.” To this day, she’s always serving. Always ready to serve people and talk to them about Jesus. That’s what keeps me going. I want to influence all my kids the same way.
My family faced financial struggles. It was hard for me and my brothers, we moved from house to house. I probably went to 10 schools growing up because we moved all the time. Even when I went through that, I thought “Even if I’m going through a hard time, I’m still going to hold on, and I’m not going to lose faith.” I remember we were lighting a candle, and we had our electricity cut off, we had no water, so it was really hard for us, but we never gave up on God. We would get ready for church, and then with a smile on our faces didn’t tell a soul what we were going through. That was the toughest moment in my life, I would say, but I still kept my faith during that time. I believe that you have to be happy with what you have because you could complain right now, but then the next person is going through something more difficult. Right now we’re facing health issues with my mom, but we’re still holding on because we still have hope. We know there are greater things that are happening, so we keep that faith.
I’ll never forget the verse where Paul says he’s finishing the race, he kept the faith. As we keep that faith, we know that greater things are happening. That’s why Jesus said in his word to the disciples, “Blessed are those that won’t see me but will believe.” He knew our generation, no matter what we go through, we have to believe, even if we don’t see him. That hope keeps us going. I have to keep holding on because I know I may be an inspiration to the next person; to the next single mom who’s raising her kids, who’s going through a tough time.
I love the choir. Every single person I’ve met, the altos and the tenors, oh my. The jokes that we have with each other, the moments that we share, even before service, it’s just amazing how many different people I’ve connected with. It’s helped me grow. I’ve been singing in church all my life. It’s amazing how much fun you have singing for Christ on stage with the person next to you. With Easter, we have so much fun. We sang in all three services. You would have thought we’d be tired from singing all day, but we had so much fun. We love it. Someday I want to join a missions team. That’s the next thing I really want to do. Not just in the community, but outside of my community, outside of my comfort zone. I want to travel with the church and spread the gospel.
I would encourage people to take one step at a time, serving and taking responsibility. Do what you love and at the same time, serve. You’ll know what you’re doing is impacting people in the community.
Take one step at a time
There’s got to be a step. Even those who know Christ, we have a step to take too. It’s just like when a baby is taking their steps. They crawl first and then they walk. Before you walk, you stumble. Before you run, you walk. I think of it like that. You don’t have to be perfect, but that’s why the doors are open. Just take one step at a time.
You don’t have to be perfect, but that’s why the doors are open. Just take one step at a time.